Schools back, so is yummy mummy

Dirk Gently

Looks like the seasonal cycle lanes are now closed off again till next summer. My couple of months of cycling home safely are now over. With the exception of going by apartment blocks who use cycle lanes as year round car parks, I must admit I had a decent little run of hassle free commuting this summer.

Schools are back now though and cycle lanes and footpaths are now once again car parks for the yummy mummy. Doors opening from all directions, kids running around, cars pulling off from the footpath and parents driving while having their head turned 180 degrees in the wrong direction. Not even any room on the roads to wiggle by, not even if your handle bars were only 100mm long

Here's hoping we have a shocker of a recession and mummy has to sell her SUV to pay her credit card bills. Here's hoping kids have to walk / cycle / bus it home from school instead of having a big car taxi service waiting for them in my cycle lane.

The only thing that cheered me up the past few days was seeing quiet a few for sale signs pinned to the side windows of the cars Is yummy mummy here to stay or will the recession get her and her shiny 4x4?

Diarmuid

David McWilliams, is that you?

Dirk Gently

Diarmuid wrote: »

David McWilliams, is that you?

you calling me a ginger? :mad:

kenmc

yeah it's annoying - traffic is noticibly worse since last week, you really have to leave early enough to miss the 8:30-9 school drops.
Oh and SUV has been redefined to be Stranded Useless Vehicle

Dirk Gently

I miss the morning madness in fairness, but I finish at 3pm, just in time for the afternoon fun.

dr.bollocko

It effects us drivers too. The talking on the phone in the big SUV or MPV while the kids hammer each other in the back is getting really old. If only my bonnet was made out of sponge so I could give the back a bit of a shunt. Not a hard shunt. Just enough to knock off the oh so patronising baby on board sticker and maybe knock the mobile out of Miss Mummy's hand for once so she can actually learn to use our roads with some degree of law abiding respect for other commuters.
:mad:

Victor

When parking on the footpath at the traffic lights, how do they get the 45 degree angle to the kerb just so?

Stark

I'm sure it's going to get worse. The traffic has been surprisingly quiet this week so far (in northside Dublin anyway). I remember the first fortnight of September last year being absolutely mental. Then presumably some mothers seemed to get the hint that making a car trip every morning in gridlocked streets was no joke and the traffic eased back a bit. Are all the schools back yet?

daymobrew

On Sunday afternoon in Dublin 15 I saw a woman in a SUV park on double yellow lines near a pedestrian crossing. While unloading the kid she parked the buggy on the off-road cycle track. :rolleyes:

She was bringing the kid to the small playground on the other side of the railings. She could have driven into the estate there.

kenmc

Why did you block out the reg plate? There's nothing illegal in taking pictures outdoors, if it happens to catch someone or something, so be it.
Oh and here's a useful website: www.betterdrivingplease.com - finally a database of muppetry!
Maybe you'd submit that pic there?

Cabaal

Its perfectly legl for you to take pictyures while on public property, its not like your selling the photos or anything so you don't need a model release.

Here's hoping for the downfail of SUV's!

topper75

Solution would be simple if local authorities were interested. Place iron bollards between the road and bike path at random intervals.

If some yummy mummy beeyotch tries to swerve in on the bike path, she will damage the '08' vehicle and rich hubby will blacken her eye (or whatever those upper middle class types do).

Saves me having to key the SUV too.

But we all know the LAs in this country just put bike lanes for 'window dressing' so it won't happen.

kenmc

i'd say that's a recipe for disaster to be honest - imagine hitting one of those metal bollards, in the dark, in the winter? I'd rather take my chances with an SUV - at least they have lights. The ULTIMATE solution is an elevated cycletrack, above the traffic. I know, I'm a dreamer

Stark

kenmc wrote: »

i'd say that's a recipe for disaster to be honest - imagine hitting one of those metal bollards, in the dark, in the winter? I'd rather take my chances with an SUV - at least they have lights. The ULTIMATE solution is an elevated cycletrack, above the traffic. I know, I'm a dreamer

Tbh, an elevated cycletrack sounds worse. Pedestrians would see it as an extension of the footpath; you'd have to drop down onto the road to avoid obstacles and wouldn't be able to get back up and people would just park on it anyway. (The same way having elevated footpaths doesn't stop people from parking on them).

kenmc

i mean a suspended, elevated track, way up in the sky. you could push pedestrians off the side Cars could never park on it then

DirkVoodoo

I like where you are going with this ken, continue please...

kenmc

well it's going to go from my house to work. and back.

blorg

Actually built in Pasadena in 1900:



A modern proposal

Modern one might actually happen in Sydney

I know I have seen a proposal somewhere for one that used sealed transparent tubes with fans, with the effect that you would always have a significant tailwind- can't dig that up right now though (not sure how energy efficient it would be either.)

Cortazar

My Da calls them hard faced blond bitches. Think the morning commute really got to him...

Vélo

clown bag wrote: »

Looks like the seasonal cycle lanes are now closed off again till next summer. My couple of months of cycling home safely are now over. With the exception of going by apartment blocks who use cycle lanes as year round car parks, I must admit I had a decent little run of hassle free commuting this summer.

Schools are back now though and cycle lanes and footpaths are now once again car parks for the yummy mummy. Doors opening from all directions, kids running around, cars pulling off from the footpath and parents driving while having their head turned 180 degrees in the wrong direction. Not even any room on the roads to wiggle by, not even if your handle bars were only 100mm long

Here's hoping we have a shocker of a recession and mummy has to sell her SUV to pay her credit card bills. Here's hoping kids have to walk / cycle / bus it home from school instead of having a big car taxi service waiting for them in my cycle lane.

The only thing that cheered me up the past few days was seeing quiet a few for sale signs pinned to the side windows of the cars Is yummy mummy here to stay or will the recession get her and her shiny 4x4?

I recently got my wife an SUV so my wife is a yummy mummy I suppose but we genuinely need a 7 seater as kid number 4 is on the way. I am teaching her to avoid cycle lanes and to keep an eye out for cyclists. She has gotten better since I started cycling myself.


PS: I feel your pain!

'68 Fastback

@blorg. I reckon if the gvmnt tried to build a cycle tunnel they'd probably bulid it too low for most cyclists to fit through! just look at their track record of tunnel building over the last few years.

Stark

Aquinas73 wrote: »

I recently got my wife an SUV so my wife is a yummy mummy I suppose but we genuinely need a 7 seater as kid number 4 is on the way. I am teaching her to avoid cycle lanes and to keep an eye out for cyclists. She has gotten better since I started cycling myself.

Wouldn't that be an MPV as opposed to an SUV?

Vélo

Stark wrote: »

Wouldn't that be an MPV as opposed to an SUV?

No it's an SUV (Hyundai Santa Fe)

blorg

Aquinas73 wrote: »

No it's an SUV (Hyundai Santa Fe)

You are a killer of baby seals sir, I just hope you are happy.

Thanks BTW to everyone who has given me a lift with my bikes in their SUVs, although I don't know how ye sleep at night.

Victor

kenmc wrote: »

i mean a suspended, elevated track, way up in the sky. you could push pedestrians off the side Cars could never park on it then

They'll just tie their helicopters to it.

Cabaal

Aquinas73 wrote: »

No it's an SUV (Hyundai Santa Fe)

wouldn't an MPV be better?

Vélo

Cabaal wrote: »

wouldn't an MPV be better?

No the Santa Fe has proper size seats in the back. All my kids are in child seats or booster seats so we need the extra room. My eldest is only 6.

I did a lot of research before I bought it. We had a look at loads of different ones.

I told her if we have any more kids she's getting a Ford Transit Minibus.